Your link and photo are for a 4 inch.
6 inches are $19.99 maybe there's a coupon out there.
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-digital-caliper-47257.html

bds

October 15, 2010, 03:02 PM

You are indeed correct, my mistake. It is for 4" caliper. :banghead:

Still, 4" should be long enough to measure most pistol/rifle cartridges, other than .50 BMG, right?

Eagle103

October 15, 2010, 06:31 PM

I've had good luck with mine. Replaced the batteries a couple of times in the last 5 years or so but that's about it. I also have one of their dial calipers that also works well.

bds

October 15, 2010, 06:57 PM

Not knocking your find but the two calipers I bought from them were junk. Hopefully they've improved.
+1. One word of caution. You will never find me recommending Harbor Freight "DIAL" calipers. Yes, they are indeed junk. When they were on sale last, I checked one out of the box to buy for a new reloader I was helping to get setup. Although finish and construction looked good, it did not feel smooth in hand. It had difficult time measuring consistently. I went through about ten and gave up as none of them zero'ed and measured consistently. I cannot rely on an instrument that deviates 0.002" - 0.003". I do realize China makes many brand name calipers and these had to be either cheap copies or factory QC rejects.

However, their "DIGITAL" calipers are another story. I have their 6" digital caliper and the construction quality and finish is very good, not like the dial calipers I checked out. Slide action is smooth and precise, like my dial caliper I bought 15 years ago (BTW, my dial caliper holds zero and still has very smooth slide action and consistent measurements).

Many posted that HF digital calipers are the same as many branded digital calipers. I think their digital calipers maybe very good copies or the same calipers that many brands put their names on. I recommend you check the calipers out of the box and measure some "known" objects like jacketed bullet diameters before you buy one.

Hondo 60

October 15, 2010, 07:16 PM

bds:
Very good information.
Not just a HF is junk post, but explains exactly which product is junk & which is good & WHY your of that opinion.

Thanks for posting. This is why THR is such a good place for firearm enthusiasts.
(or gun nuts if you prefer) LOL

bds

October 15, 2010, 08:10 PM

Thank you Hondo. Glad to help out fellow THR members/lurkers.

I have been a long-time lurker at THR and learned A LOT of reloading information, mainly why I should not exceed max load data (tried it once, and had that "Boy I won't do THAT again experience). :D

rfwobbly

October 15, 2010, 10:52 PM

I use a lot of high precision instruments at work and paid well over $70 in 1990 for my personal dial calipers. Finding the Harbor Freight 6" digital calipers on sale for $13 about 18 months ago was a find I'm still celebrating. The fit and finish is very good, and the accuracy and repeatability is excellent. Certainly within the limits of what any reloader needs.

The 6" HF units are certainly worth the effort to find and get my vote. :)

The accuracy should be the same on their 4" model, but with my large hands I'd worry that they'd be harder to work with. There's a reason 6" is the "standard".

Walkalong

October 16, 2010, 08:32 AM

Yep, I find the 6" caliper handier as well, and, like rfwobbly, my HF calipers measure right on with my high priced calipers. Anything finer and I am breaking out the micrometer anyway. ;)

Good news is 90% of our measurements are not super critical.

jmorris

October 16, 2010, 08:49 AM

Coupon expires 10/18/10.

At least that's two days before the batteries. Seriously dials are a lot better if you only have one set. If you don’t keep them in the box they come in you will have a lot better battery life. I think the foam pushes the button turning them on after you put them into the box.

Walkalong

October 16, 2010, 09:23 AM

Yep, keep them OUT of the box. Battery life is pretty good if you do.

bds

October 16, 2010, 09:58 AM

Seriously dials are a lot better if you only have one set.
Yes, I prefer the manual dial, but someone who has hard time reading the small numbers of the dial may find the larger digital display easier to read.

Walkalong

October 16, 2010, 10:54 AM

but someone who has hard time reading the small numbers of the dial may find the larger digital display easier to read

I resemble that remark. :p

It is why I bought mine. They are plenty accurate enough for most measurements, and are easy to read.

Taroman

October 16, 2010, 11:08 AM

I have several, both 4" and 6". The 6" is a little nicer to use in that it has a thumb wheel to aid precise movement. I use them a lot and have never had any issue other than repalcing the batteries. They use an odd little battery. I found them on ebay for about 50 cents each.

rfwobbly

October 16, 2010, 12:45 PM

Seriously dials are a lot better if you only have one set.

Friend, with all due respect, IMHO that statement indicates inexperience with all 4 types of measuring calipers over a long period.

Here's a simple example of something reloaders measure almost everyday that points out why I believe digital calipers are better...

You have a pile of 100 brass (or bullets, or crimps). You want to measure them to see how much variation is in the lot. Or you want to throw all the ones that are larger (or smaller) than XXX into a bin to be taken care of later. The measurement is derived from metric ammo, so the measurement is something weird (and therefore hard to remember) like 1.437". You have decided to discard all the samples larger than 1.439" AND smaller than 1.433".

On a vernier or dial caliper you can 1) sit there and measure each piece trying to read a strange number repeatedly. In this case your eyes will soon glass-over and you're likely to fall out of your chair with sheer boredom. Or you can 2) lock the caliper jaws and use the caliper as a "go; no-go" gauge. But locking the jaws in place doesn't tell you how much smaller the "small ones" really are. It only tells you the big ones are too big. Follow?

But with a digital caliper this job is SO MUCH EASIER! You simply run the caliper out to 1.437" and hit the "Zero" button. Now, when the caliper reads "0.000" you are sitting right on 1.437". Follow? Now, when you measure your piece under inspection, the caliper gives you a reading that tells you directly how much larger or smaller your part is. If the part is .001" smaller, then the caliper reads "-0.001". If the part is .0035" too large, then the caliper reads "+0.0035".

By using a digital caliper you see the difference from "perfect" right on the screen. There is no guessing. There is no mental math to do. You can directly sort BOTH the pieces too small and the pieces too large in a single pass. And too, if you read a number like "1.347" you don't get dyslexic and put that one in the "perfect" pile. Your digital caliper tells you right out... that one is -.090 too short.

For metal work, yes a dial caliper is wonderful. But for reloading, a digital caliper is such a time saver; it's simply invaluable. To me the clarity it lends to any reloading task adds safety to my hobby. That's why I highly encourage everyone to buy a digital caliper for reloading.

All the best. ;)

Walkalong

October 16, 2010, 12:48 PM

They use an odd little battery. I found them on ebay for about 50 cents each.
Mine uses a "357" battery, commonly found around town in three packs. The same battery is labeled many ways, but are all compatible. The pack lists all the different ones it works for.

Many good points rfwobbly. Very good analysis of real use for a reloader.

rcmodel

October 16, 2010, 03:18 PM

Cut a hole in the box padding so it doesn't push the power button on and the battery life is greatly extended!

rc

jmorris

October 16, 2010, 08:26 PM

IMHO that statement indicates inexperience with all 4 types of measuring calipers over a long period.

I guess my inexperience reveals itself. I only use all types of measuring instruments as a profession everyday and have for decades but I only use 3 types of calipers, vernier, dial and digital (not counting inside, outside, bow or dividers because they are not precision measurement instruments) the fourth type is a tool I do not have in my arsenal.

I will agree that a digital is easy to read but when the battery is dead it is much more difficult to get any accurate reading at all than the other two common instruments. Again, if the only thing you have is digital…your out of luck if you have no voltage. As long as you have eyesight (assisted if need be), the others will work for you, every time all the time.

jcwit

October 16, 2010, 09:12 PM

I guess my inexperience reveals itself. I only use all types of measuring instruments as a profession everyday and have for decades but I only use 3 types of calipers, vernier, dial and digital (not counting inside, outside, bow or dividers because they are not precision measurement instruments) the fourth type is a tool I do not have in my arsenal.

I will agree that a digital is easy to read but when the battery is dead it is much more difficult to get any accurate reading at all than the other two common instruments. Again, if the only thing you have is digital…your out of luck if you have no voltage. As long as you have eyesight (assisted if need be), the others will work for you, every time all the time.

So you're telling mechanics is better than electronics?

Wish you were designing some of the stuff back into the new autos.

On the other hand how dificult is it to keep an extra few batteries on hand?

Most of these digital calibers use the same battery as the small hand held laser pointers, not a diffcult battery to find at all.

As for accuracy the digital caliber uses the same technology as the digital readouts used on metal working machinery and now also being used in the wood working field. Yup, we're now doing wood working to less than a thousands of an inch.

bds

October 16, 2010, 09:31 PM

Check the local Dollar Tree/99 Cent stores for battery packs (as long as they are the same size and voltage, they should work). I've seen 10-12 packs for $1.

Eagle103

October 16, 2010, 10:31 PM

I will agree that a digital is easy to read but when the battery is dead it is much more difficult to get any accurate reading at all than the other two common instruments. Again, if the only thing you have is digital…your out of luck if you have no voltage. As long as you have eyesight (assisted if need be), the others will work for you, every time all the time.
Yep. Precisely why I keep a dial caliper handy.

1SOW

October 16, 2010, 11:11 PM

But with a digital caliper this job is SO MUCH EASIER! You simply run the caliper out to 1.437" and hit the "Zero" button. Now, when the caliper reads "0.000" you are sitting right on 1.437". Follow? Now, when you measure your piece under inspection, the caliper gives you a reading that tells you directly how much larger or smaller your part is.

My HF 6" has worked really well too, but looking at the catalog sometimes doesn't describe they have 'some' models/lengths that won't zero at any length and/or are made of diffent materials than the better ones.

Buyer beware, especially by catalog description.

Furncliff

October 16, 2010, 11:42 PM

The photo does show a zero button although the description does not mention this feature.

Note... the 6 inch model is $20.00.

Here's a review of the 6 inch model that I found on a metal workers web site...

As a happy owner of MANY Harbor Freight tools, none of which I use to earn my income, they fill a need for those of us looking for that one or two time use tool who do not make the kind of money to buy the 'name brand'. That said, my HFD digital caliper is terrific for my needs. Oh and my HF garage air compressor has been outstanding for years now.

bds

October 29, 2010, 10:48 PM

OK, this time it's the HF 6" caliper on sale for $14.99 with the coupon (http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets/common/displayCoupon.do?week=4410&campaign=a_itc&page=coupon5.html&single=true&cust=78017608167&keycode=0000) (currently on sale for $24.99). Coupon expires 11/25/10.

For metal work, yes a dial caliper is wonderful. But for reloading, a digital caliper is such a time saver; it's simply invaluable. To me the clarity it lends to any reloading task adds safety to my hobby. That's why I highly encourage everyone to buy a digital caliper for reloading.

I've been reloading for twenty years using a dial caliper and I like them and have no interest in buying a digital caliper. I bought a virtually NIB Mitutoyo dial caliper on Ebay a few months ago for $24 or thereabouts. I'm doing just fine with what I have, but then again, I'm not measuring and sorting anything between 1.433" and 1.439".

:)

Furncliff

October 30, 2010, 10:27 AM

I received my HF 6 inch digital caliper in the mail yesterday. Thanks OP, this is a nice unit and MUCH easier to read than my dial unit. I paid $20 for mine, now they are sale for $15.00. I'd say they were a heck of a deal for that.

HF has the 6" digital caliper on sale for $14.99 (http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets/common/displayCoupon.do?week=5110&campaign=sp1c&page=coupon19.html&single=true&cust=78154398419&keycode=0000).

In case anyone is interested, they got a safe for $279 (http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets/common/displayCoupon.do?week=5110&campaign=sp1c&page=coupon18.html&single=true&cust=78154398419&keycode=0000) and 20% off discount coupon (http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets/common/displayCoupon.do?week=5110&campaign=sp1c&page=20_coupon.html&single=true&cust=78154398419&keycode=0000). While you are at the store, don't forget to pick up your free LED flashlight (http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets/common/displayCoupon.do?week=5110&campaign=sp1c&page=flashlight.html&single=true&cust=78154398419&keycode=0000).

These HF 6" units are identical to many other digital caliper brands just wearing different screen printing all made in the same factory in China...

My HF 6" have worked flawlessly for 3 years I got them for $9.99+tax

bds

December 23, 2010, 10:52 AM

rfwobbly, although the two calipers may look similar, they may not be. If you look at the picture below, HF caliper is one top. It has black measuring rule background with battery and data port cover on top where the other caliper has white background with just the battery compartment cover.

We know that this particular HF digital caliper quality and accuracy has been verified by many and consistent unit to unit. On the other hand, my experience with HF dial calipers is that they are inconsistent junk (I have yet to find a HF dial caliper at the store that measure accurately and consistently).

Unless someone has experience with these calipers, I would recommend the HF caliper for now. If it is verified to be of quality and consistently accurate, then $7.50 is an awesome price for a digital caliper.